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Kevin Durant recently went on the record saying he'd never be considered for season-long awards due to his move to the Golden State Warriors. His statement drew mixed critiques, but the numbers don't lie: they have proven he is one of the elite defenders since joining the Warriors in 2016, even after failing to be considered among the candidates for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Ever since Durant joined Golden State, he has held opponents to 38 percent shooting from the floor as a primary defender, according to Second Spectrum. The percentage would be the lowest among the 50 players who have seen at least 1,500 shots attempted against them the last two seasons.
Durant's blocks per game have increased during his lone two seasons in the Bay Area, getting consecutive career highs with 1.6 and 1.8 rejections the last two years.
In addition to that, his willingness to become the team's primary auxiliary defender has done wonders for the Warriors, as his size, length, and speed has kept opponents from getting clean looks at the basket.
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Sporting a near 7-foot frame and an even longer 7-foot-5 wingspan, Durant has done much more than terrorize opposing small forwards at the offensive end, bringing the same terror as a defender.
Perhaps the most underrated factor is his partnership with a former Defensive Player of the Year in Draymond Green, acting as the perimeter defender who will occasionally defer to an even more physical rim protector.
Furthermore, Green and Durant are versatile enough to interchange roles, as Green closes out on strech 4s and 5s, leaving Durant to patrol the paint for any cutters or slashing threats.
Durant is still tapping into his full defensive potential, despite not being mentioned among the league's best defenders or making the All-Defensive team, which had Robert Covington and Jimmy Butler edge him in the voting.
